


A New Beginning

by ExtraSteps



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Not your typical mush, Secret Admirer, Valentine's Day, gets pretty angsty, mythiamvalentine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 05:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17822534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExtraSteps/pseuds/ExtraSteps
Summary: Theo has a secret admirer. Finding out who it is will set him on a whole new path.





	A New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RaeAnnisapancake](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaeAnnisapancake/gifts).



> Happy (belated) Valentine's Day Rae-Ann! I hope you like it!

Objectively, Theo knew what Valentine's day was. In America it was all but impossible not to, what with the way pink and red hearts were plastered on every available surface, and the school was no different. There were banners and posters everywhere from the prom committee selling one dollar sweethearts and long-stemmed red roses and advertising their VDay Dance. 

School dances were about the lamest thing that Theo could imagine, roses made his throat itchy, and he genuinely had no idea what one dollar sweethearts even were, and he wasn't game enough to find out. So no, Theo had no intention of celebrating Valentine's day.

Unfortunately, there was some "secret admirer" who hadn't got the memo. Not a single day had passed that week where there hadn't been a love note slipped into his locker.   


Normally, he would have been able to tell who it was from. He had a strong nose, the one sense that was enhanced better than a real werewolf, but each note had been spritzed with perfume that disguised their 

scent and made his nose wrinkle up in disgust. This girl had terrible taste in perfume.   


What really annoyed him the most about not being able to figure it out was that somewhere in this stupid school there was some poor girl pining over him, and he couldn't even approach her and let her down gently. Whoever she was, she was barking up the wrong tree.   


Despite kissing (and then killing) Tracey, the fairer sex did not really interest him. They were aesthetically pleasing, sure, but they didn't make his blood run hot the way guys did.   


He approached his locker warily, glancing around the hallway to see if anyone was watching him. He was normally pretty good at sensing eyes on him, but all of the students that filed past him paid him no mind whatsoever, lost in their own worlds and ignorant of his. Just the way he liked it.   


With a sigh, he turned back towards his locker and unlocked it, opening it carefully. He caught the note before it fluttered to the ground and stuffed it in his pocket before anyone could see.   


Students could sniff out intrigue like bloodhounds, and Theo had no intention of being under the scrutiny of a thousand eager prying eyes.   


Grabbing his books for the day, he slammed the locker shut and wandered towards his first class of the day, AP Bio.

Theo sat down at the back of the classroom in his usual spot, glancing around once more before pulling out the note and flattening it out. He grabbed a pencil from his bag, keeping it hovering over the page so that anyone who walked in would just assume he was finishing his homework and leave him be. But really, his eyes were flicking over the page, drinking in the message and trying not to squirm. These notes were getting... vivid.   


_ Theo, I had a dream about you last night. You were pinning me down with those strong arms and then one of your hands slid up and wrapped around my throat. I couldn't breathe.  It was so hot, but then I woke up and my blanket was smothering me, but I wish it had been you. Love, your secret admirer. _

If the note had come from a guy, he would've been thrilled. The thought of pinning a guy down as he thrashed and fought back, bucking his hips up, fangs bared... Theo shook his head, dislodging the image his mind was painting before it could fully form. Suffice to say, he was into it.   


It was time to put a stop to it, before this poor girl got her heart broken. After Bio, which he forced himself to take notes in despite his distraction, he returned to his locker, scribbling a note and sliding it into his own locker with just the corner poking out.   


Hopefully his admirer would find it and that would be the end of it.   


Feeling a little better about the whole thing, Theo pushed it out of his mind and moved on to his next lesson.   


***

It was not the end of it.

When Theo returned to his locker at the end of the day, it was to find his note stuffed back inside his locker, only now it had a spritz of the same perfume and a note underneath. On the paper, he had written; "To my admirer, whoever you are. Thank you for the kind words, but I'm not interested in dating anyone at the moment. I'm sorry if you find this upsetting, and I would say this to your face if I had any idea who you are, but I just don't have time for a girlfriend right now. Regards, Theo."   


It was to the point, polite without giving any hope of this whole thing going any further.

There was only a single sentence reply.   


_ ~~Nice try, but I'm not a girl x _

Theo blinked. Well, that was... interesting, to say the least. The paranoid, highly intelligent, highly suspicious part of his brain kicked in. Whoever this guy was, he'd used perfume to disguise his scent. That meant he knew that Theo would be able to sniff him out, that he was a chimera. Which significantly cut down on his list of suspects from pretty much every girl in the school to just a small handful of boys.

He sorted through them as he closed his locker and stalked down the hallway. Mason. Corey. They were dating though. Very unlikely to be one of them.   


Nolan, bless him, was very pretty but not smart enough to pull this off. Unless Mason was helping him...   


No, that way of thinking would just tie him up in knots. He had to investigate the leads before he tried to come up with any elaborate theories.   


Who else was there? Brett? Also unlikely; he didn't go to this school, and if he'd been in every day Theo would've heard about it, or at least noticed his scent.   


Scott was a possibility. He'd left school, obviously, but he was still around a fair bit as the assistant coach. But it just didn't seem like his style.   


He got to the end of the hallway, standing at the doors and looking through the window. Toward the lacrosse field. He was the only person left. The only other student at Beacon High who knew what he was.   


Theo wanted it to be him as much as he was terrified that it was. Because if it was Liam, he truly didn't know what to do with that information. Because if Liam liked him, then it meant that it was okay for Theo to like him back.   


The team ran past, Liam clearly visible at the front as they completed a lap of the field, and Theo's eyes tracked him until he was out of sight again. If Liam was at practice, then it meant he wasn't home. And if he wasn't home, it meant that Theo could investigate.   


***

There was no one home when Theo let himself in with the key that the Geyer family stashed under the third pot plant from the right on their front porch. Liam had told him where it was one day, telling him that any time he wanted to duck in and have a shower, or sleep in a bed, or eat a cooked meal, he was welcome. Theo had laughed at him. Not only because he could have sniffed the key out in a second without his help, but also to cover how unbearably awkward the whole situation was. Liam was only trying to help after finding out he'd been sleeping in his car, but it made Theo feel deeply ashamed that he's fallen so far that he needed to rely on pity and charity to get by.   


Liam hadn't pushed it, and Theo had slipped into his house a few times when he was truly desperate, but neither of them had brought it up again.   


But it did mean that Theo was familiar with the house, that he knew exactly where Liam's room was, even if he very rarely dared to enter it, knowing how deeply he was affected by being surrounded by Liam's scent soaking into every surface. The first time he'd stepped in, intent on stealing a pair of sweatpants or something, he'd come to a complete halt, nostrils flaring, eyes shining gold as he zeroed in on the mattress. The urge to fling himself into it and cover every inch of his body in that scent had been strong enough to sorely test his resolve, and it had taken everything in his power not to succumb to it. He'd avoided the room as much as possible ever since. It was far too tempting.

He pushed open the door and stepped inside, taking in the clothes spilling out of the hamper, the discarded gaming controls dropped at the end of the bed, the cup on his bedside table. But they weren't what he was looking for. Zeroing in on the desk, he moved further inside, nostrils flaring. There was something familiar in the air, something that made his heart start to pound.   


Opening the first drawer on the desk, he gave a helpless mewl. There it was, plain as day. A perfume bottle. He picked it up, already knowing what it would smell like as he spritzed it on a piece of paper; the sickly sweet overwhelming scent of fake flowers and vanilla making his nose wrinkle in distaste.   


It was Liam.   


Liam was his secret admirer.

Theo set the perfume down, his hand shaking as he shut the drawer, stepping back to sit heavily on Liam's bed. The lingering scent of the perfume wasn't strong enough to disguise Liam's scent, and the newfound knowledge that Liam liked him stole that last of his resolve. He fell back on top of it, closing his eyes, feeling dizzy as the foundation of his whole world slipped out from underneath his feet.   


Liam wasn't supposed to like him. Liam hated him, distrusted him. Theo had used him to kill his alpha, had lied to him, manipulated him. A few months of being helpful wasn't enough to atone for all the pain he'd caused Liam and his pack. The idea that Liam might actually like him was ludicrous. What would Scott say? Or Stiles? Or Malia?   


He could feel panic starting to set in. What if they sent him back to hell, for tarnishing their baby beta, for seducing him? He couldn't go back there. Even the nightmares that plagued him every night were sunshine and roses compared to what he'd endured in hell. He wasn't going back there; not now, not ever.   


Rolling to his feet, he rushed from the room and back outside, only just remembering to lock the door behind him and return the key. And then he jumped into his truck and peeled off down the street like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels, heading straight for the preserve.   


***

Liam paused at his front door, head tilted as he sniffed. Theo had been by, and recently at that. And his scent was weird, making Liam frown as he pushed his door open and tracked the scent up to his room.

He glanced around, finding nothing disturbed, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. 

Letting his lacrosse bag fall to the floor, he took a deep breath, holding it in his lungs and letting his wolf sort them the way Scott had taught him.

The first scent he noticed was the disgusting cloying scent of perfume. It had been Hayden’s, one she’d left in his bathroom when they’d been dating. He’d always thought it was revolting, but Hayden had loved it so he’d never mentioned how much he hated it. It had been useful though in disguising his scent, and far more effective than he’d ever hoped for. He still couldn’t quite believe that Theo had thought his admirer had been a girl.

It had been quite a rush to find Theo’s note this morning. He’d only meant to check to see if Theo had found his latest letter and the corner of the paper poking out had immediately roused his attention. He’d checked carefully to see if Theo was nearby and laying a trap, but there had been no other heartbeats in his immediate vicinity. So Liam had grabbed it, first amused and then relieved. To someone who knew Theo, it was obviously a lie. Theo had nothing but time; Liam didn’t even think he had a job. So it meant that the issue at hand wasn’t a relationship, but rather having one with a girl. 

Which was very, very interesting.

Liam discarded that scent as unimportant, latching onto the others, frowning deeply in concentration. There was one that was like surprise, or shock. So Theo had been surprised it was him. He'd clearly been suspicious, to come into Liam's room in the first place, but the confirmation had rattled him. He filed that away, focussing on the next scent. Longing. He followed that one, interested.   


Theo had sat on his bed, had lay down, and Liam growled low in his throat, filling his lungs with the scent of Theo's longing on his bed, feeling it burn through his veins. Theo  _ wanted _ him.   


But over that, over the perfume, the surprise, the longing was the sour stink of fear and panic.   


Liam sighed.   


Theo had run, just like Liam had known he would. He'd hoped, perhaps naively, that easing Theo into the idea of someone liking him would prevent this from happening. Clearly, he'd been mistaken, and he kicked himself. Moments later he was striding back outside.   


Who knew if Theo was even in Beacon Hills anymore, but Liam had to try.   


***

Theo hadn't gone far. Despite kicking himself for being a lovestruck idiot, he couldn't bring himself to leave town. Instead, he had turned his truck towards the preserve, finding one of his usual parking spots and shutting everything down, resting his forehead on the steering wheel and trying to ignore the way his heart was racing and his hands were shaking.

He was afraid, definitely, but he was more afraid of the bleakness of his future without Liam in his life. What was the point in escaping hell if it followed him for the rest of his days?   


So, with a shuddering sigh, he moved into the backseat of his truck, resting his head on his pillow as he stared up at the sky through the window, leaving it up to Liam. If he was really serious, if this was more than just a joke, he'd find him.   


It was maybe an hour later that Theo heard a heartbeat as familiar as his own approaching, the face that haunted his days and nights peering down at him through his window.   


Theo looked at Liam, keeping his face impassive as he tried to get some sense for how the werewolf was feeling.   


"You're an idiot," Liam informed him when it was clear that Theo wasn't going to say anything.   


"I know," Theo agreed easily. And he was. Falling for the werewolf had been the dumbest thing he'd ever done in his life, which for him was really saying something.

Liam was silent for a few moments longer, eyes narrowing slightly. "But you didn't leave," he said softly.   


"I don't have anywhere else to go," he pointed out, looking past Liam and back up at the sky.   


Liam's growl was audible, and suddenly the door was being wrenched open and hands were ripping him out of the truck. Theo went limp as Liam shoved him against the side of the truck, hands fisted in his hoodie. 

"That's not why," he insisted.

Theo sighed. "No."

Liam's scent grew annoyed. "Why are you like this?" He asked, releasing Theo and stepping back. "Why do you just let life shit on you again and again without ever fighting back?"   


Theo blinked, startled by this change of subject. "What do you mean?" He asked.   


"I mean you sleeping in this truck, I mean you moping around town instead of coming to pack nights, I mean you acting like you're not a part of this pack," Liam said, his eyes flashing with passion, though his voice stayed controlled, almost calm.   


"I'm not a charity case," Theo insisted, lips twisting into a sneer, his pride stung.   


Liam laughed bitterly. "Is that seriously whatt you think, Theo? You think I pity you? You think I'd let just any random from off the street into my house, near my family?"   


Theo considered this, feeling confused. "No?" He guessed.   


"No," Liam agreed, looking at him like he was an idiot. "Only you, Theo."   


"I killed Scott," Theo pointed out.   


"He got better," Liam countered.   


"Tracy didn't, or Josh, or my parents, or-"   


"-Tara," Liam interrupted. "That's what it all comes down to, really." He looked sad all of a sudden, and Theo's heart sunk. "When are you going to forgive yourself? When are you going to let yourself move on and actually live your life?"   


Theo didn't have an answer for him. He didn't deserve happiness. He was a monster.   


"You're an idiot," Liam said again, those blue eyes boring into him. "I think we'd be really happy together, but I can't compete with her ghost, Theo. Let her go."   


Pain bubbled in his chest, almost paralysing. "I don't know if I can," he whispered.   


Liam studied him for a moment and then nodded, turning away.   


"I got us tickets for that dumb dance," he said quietly. "Mason and Corey are going, they thought it might be nice. A double date. I'll see you there, or I won't."   


And then he was walking away, leaving Theo in the preserve, staring after him, feeling like his heart had been ripped out of his chest, far more effectively than Tara had ever managed.   


***

"Do you think he'll come?"Mason asked Liam, sitting down on his bed and watching him as he got ready for the dance.   


Liam shrugged, trying to pretend like the exact same question wasn't weighing on his mind, like he hadn't spent all night lying in bed and staring at the ceiling, thinking of Theo out in the cold, sleeping in that stupid truck of his like he didn't have a place to call home.   


He hadn't been able to concentrate at school all day, especially because Theo had never turned up.   


"I hope he does," he said instead, "but I don't know, Mase. He lives in the past, and it's Senior year, you know? I want to go to university and get a job and go out on the town sometimes, and as much as I want him beside me for all that, I can't carry his demons for him."   


"Yeah," Mason sighed. "I know what you mean." He stood up, clapping him on the shoulder. "I hope it all works out. See you there?"   


Liam nodded, watching in the mirror as Mason left. He was leaving to go and pick Corey up; they' planned to go out for dinner before the dance and would meet him at the dance at eight o'clock. Which meant that he had two hours to get ready and wait for Theo to rock up.   


_ If he's not here by 7:45 I'm leaving without him, _ he decided.   


He examined his reflection one last time, eyeing the dark jeans and grey henley he was currently wearing. It was a bit casual, maybe, but with his jacket it would look fine, and if Theo did come then Liam could hardly picture him rocking up in a suit. This would have to do.   


With still almost two hours until it was time to leave, Liam turned on his Playstation. Might as well distract himself with a game while he waited instead of watching the clock.   


But still, his eyes moved continuously to the clock, the random people he was playing with online regularly cussing him out as his attention drifted. What if Theo didn't turn up? What if he'd decided it was too hard? Would he just leave with no explanation? Or would he turn up just to break his heart?   


More than an hour after turning it on, Liam threw down his controller with an exclamation of frustration, switching it off. He couldn't make his mind be quiet, and it was driving him insane.   
His wolf was restless in his chest, and he grabbed his things, shrugging on his jacket and moving outside to sit on the front porch.   


It was dark and quiet, but Liam didn't mind, just sitting and letting the scents drifting to him on the light breeze keep his mind occupied.   


He waited. And he waited. And he waited some more. Time crawled at a snail's pace, the glowing numbers on his phone illuminating his face.   


7:44pm turned into 7:45. Liam sighed.   


Theo wasn't coming.   


He stood up, brushed himself off and turned back inside, swiping his mum's keys from the hallway table. He wasn't going to stay at home and mope about it. He was going to go to the dance with his pack and try and have fun. Without him.   


***

Liam pulled into the overflowing car park, the sound of music and laughter already filling the air. He switched off his mum's car, looking towards the gym, where couples lined up at the front door, handing their tickets to the committee members sitting at a table in front of it. Off to one side, he could see Corey and Mason waiting, Corey dipping down to whisper something into Mason's ear. If he'd strained he probably could have heard whatever it was he said, but he didn't, just watching them, a pang of longing in his chest. He wanted what they had, and it stung more than anything that he could have that, if only...   


With a sigh, he got out of the car, shutting and locking the door before pocketing the keys. He turned, paused, a familiar scent catching his nose.   


Theo.   


He turned his head, away from the gym and out towards the lacrosse field. Squinting, he could just make out a figure sitting in the bleachers.   


Liam didn't even look back, just started walking towards him.   


He came to a halt in front of him, just a few metres away. Theo's hair was damp, like he'd just showered, and he was wearing dark blue jeans, a black shirt and a black jacket. It was the nicest clothes that Liam had seen him wearing in a really long time.   


Liam opened his mouth to say something rude. Maybe,  _ I thought you weren't coming _ , or  _ you're late _ , but instead all that came out was, "hi."   


Theo's eyes were dark as he regarded him, his posture defensive, shoulders curled in to protect himself. It was vulnerable in a way that had Liam's heart in his throat, his chest aching. He wanted to reach out and hold him, to soothe the pain and reassure him. Instead, he shoved his hands into his pockets and waited.   


"Hi," Theo said, licking his lips in a nervous gesture that was very unlike him. Long gone was the cool, cocky and confident chimera. Now there was an unsure teenage boy in his place.   


"You came," Liam observed.   


"I did," Theo agreed. It was stilted, awkward. Liam had no idea what to say.   


"Why?" He asked eventually.   


_ Please don't break my heart _ , he prayed silently.  _ Please. _   


Theo opened his mouth, closed it again, shrugged. He looked confused, and more than a little frustrated. Liam could understand why. He wasn't making it easy for him.

"I don't know what to do," he confessed. "I want to try, Liam, really I do, but I have no idea how. I've never done any of this stuff before. I lived in tunnels that echoed with screams at all times of the day and night. I know what it feels like to have flesh tearing under my nails. I've killed, sometimes to survive, sometimes because I could. I mean, fuck Liam, you guys sent me to hell for what I did. How do I just go to a dance and be a teenager after all that? How do I touch you with the same hands that have caused so much pain without tarnishing you? How-"   


He choked off, and his eyes were welling over with tears, tears that became sobs, the kind that wracked your whole body, sounding more like mournful howls.   


"Liam?" He heard Corey say.   


"I know," he called back. "It's okay, I've got him."   


And he moved closer to Theo, pulling the chimera into his arms, letting him hold onto him as he released the pain and guilt and misery that had been building up for years, being a silent support through it all. He didn't tell him it was alright, because it wasn't. But he was there anyway, in spite of it. He loved Theo as he was, not as some ideal picture of who he could be. Theo was broken apart by guilt and shame, but that was fine, because Liam was too. The only difference was that he'd had people to help him, to hold him up and get him through his dark times, not letting him wallow for longer than necessary.   


No one knew better than Liam that you had to acknowledge pain. If you let it fester, it only ate you up inside. Theo's breakdown had been a long time coming, but it was the first step towards reclaiming his life.

Theo was healing, whether he knew it or not.   


It took a long time for his cries to soften to sniffles, and then deep, shaky breaths, and Liam continued to hold him, one hand trailing up and down Theo's spine, comforting him, being there for him. For awhile, 

Theo just held onto him, breaths getting quieter and quieter, leaning into Liam more and more, on the verge of sleep.   


"Thank you," Theo said quietly.   


Liam smiled. It wasn't the grand romantic evening he'd been hoping for, but maybe it was something even better, something real. A new beginning.

**Author's Note:**

> I did intend this to be fluffier but it got away from me. Like Liam said, I think it's better this way though. Comments appreciated.


End file.
